Maya Hart
Maya Penelope Hart is the deuteragonist of Girl Meets World. Maya is the fifteen-year-old daughter of Kermit and Katy. She is Riley Matthews' best friend. Maya isn't one of the best students in school, but she still looks up to Cory Matthews as a father figure. She is deeply loyal to Riley, as Riley is to her. Maya lives with her mother and her grandmother Angela Hart, who do their best to take care of her. In Girl Meets Home for the Holidays Maya starts looking up to Shawn Hunter as a mentor and father figure, because, she found out that not only were they both slackers in school, he also had an absent parent. It is unknown if Maya has a half-brother like Shawn does. Maya has a crush on Joshua Matthews, who is three years older than her as well as Riley's uncle, as well as Lucas Friar, one of her closest friends. Maya is portrayed by Sabrina Carpenter. Personality Maya is a bit of a trouble maker, and that gives her a "bad girl" image. However, it is evident that she's not actually a "bad girl," and isn't as tough as she seems. She acts like she doesn't care about something, in order for Riley to contradict and come up with a plan. It also gave her a bit of a popularity boost. She is witty and "absolutely magnetic in attracting or frightening the people in her sphere as she cares to." Nevertheless, Maya can also be vulnerable, as seen in "Girl Meets Flaws," when she admitted her flaw was being "broken." Also, she is very loyal to Riley, as Riley is to her. Maya acts over-confidently and supports Riley when she wants to be like her. Although, Maya has said she is not always proud of the person she is. She is the female version of Shawn. Maya depends heavily on Riley to help her and fix her problems, or come up with a scheme, until Girl Meets Creativity, when Riley stayed silent about Maya acting like she doesn't care. However, in Girl Meets Triangle, Riley believes that Maya is going through an identity crisis, as she is being less rebellious and becoming more like her. History Season 1 'Girl Meets World' Maya tries to convince Riley to sneak out on to the subway, but right after they sneak out the window, Cory follows them back in through the window. After Cory assures Riley that he and Topanga will be there for her, Maya and Riley head off to the subway. On the subway, Maya pushes Riley into a a cute boy's lap, who is later revealed to be Lucas Friar, a new kid at their school. She has a "relationship" with him for about a minute before letting Riley talk to him. Later, at school, Cory gives out an assignment, to write an essay on something that's worth fighting about. Maya starts a school protest, and she continually chants, "No homework, more freedom!" Since Riley wants to be like her, Maya tells Riley that this is her chance to be like her if she joins the protest. Riley joins in, but Maya soon causes trouble when the fire alarm goes off and the water sprinklers turn on. Even though Riley is a part of the protest, only Maya gets into trouble. Later, when Cory talks to Maya, she admits that she has no one at home to help her with homework. By the end of the episode, Cory assures her that she won't fail. 'Girl Meets Boy' Maya tells Riley to talk to Lucas but to no avail as she sniffs him. She asks to talk about this to Riley, but she texts her a 'no'. Later in the classroom, her phone along with the whole class is all taken away for the assignment Cory assigns for them to take notes using the New York Library. She reluctantly teams up with Farkle and together they go to the library with Riley and Lucas. When they arrive, she and Farkle reads a book they pulled off the shelf earlier. They start on a chapter called “Disconnecting to Connect” which is about how unplugging yourself from technology makes for better human interaction. Later they sit at the windowsill and she says she cannot afford a smartphone, and all she has is the moon while sketching something. Farkle looks to see what she was doing and sees the artwork she had done, not knowing how talented she was. The next morning in class, when they present their project, Farkle kept her artwork in his pocket where his phone was and she smiles at him. During the credits Cory meets up with her in the library and gives her a smartphone and tells his motives are entirely selfish but she doesn't think they are. He then hands her a pack of colored pencils, saying if she’s watching Riley and something beautiful happens, he wants her to capture that, too and paint him a picture. 'Girl Meets the Truth' When Maya showed off a new locket, Riley wondered where it came from. Maya eventually admitted she claimed it from Lost & Found even though it wasn't hers. After she and Riley learnt a lesson about telling the truth even when it's uncomfortable, Maya returned the locket to its rightful owners. 'Girl Meets Maya's Mother' On school career day, Maya was not surprised when her mother fails to show up as promised. The next day, when Katy interrupted Cory's lesson, Maya was embarrassed by her mother's performance. Maya told her mother it was best when she went on her imaginary auditions and chased her imaginary father, despite claiming she wasn't humiliated by her mother's appearance. After a teacher complimented Maya's art, she asked Maya to present it at a school event. Maya didn't want her art on display, but Riley went behind her back to have Maya's work displayed so her mother could come and see it. On the night of the art exhibit, Maya's painting of a diner with a woman only half-visible was shown. Maya's mother didn't show up to see the exhibit, leading Riley to visit her and demand to know why she didn't show up. Katy explained she only disappoints her daughter. Katy was determined to simply work so Maya could have more than she had, even if it meant she wasn't always around for her. 'Girl Meets Home for the Holidays' When Shawn Hunter joined the Matthews family for Christmas, Maya met Shawn for the first time. Despite regularly hearing how Cory and Shawn were the Riley and Maya of their day, Maya was not initially impressed with Shawn. Maya tried to prove that she and Riley are better friends than Cory and Shawn. Maya helped Riley confront Shawn about him ignoring her when he visited town. Shawn and Maya began to see how they do have a lot in common, including their respective friendships with Cory and Riley. Before Shawn left, he invited the kids, including Maya, on a trip he was going to take to Upstate New York. During the holiday dinner, Maya also saw Riley's uncle Josh. Maya was instantly smitten with Josh, despite him being three years older than her. It was obvious they had met before because Josh told her she "grew up gorgeous". When Josh visited again for game night, Maya tried to make advances on him but he told her he was too old for her. Undeterred, Maya told him she's playing the long game. 'Girl Meets Master Plan' On Maya's fourteenth birthday, Maya's mother left for work before Maya got up. Maya was resigned to the fact Katy forgot her birthday, which seemed to anger Riley and the Matthews more than it did Maya. With Shawn Hunter was in town at the same time, Riley and Cory set about to try fix Shawn up with Katy. Cory and Riley's plan got Shawn excited about trying to fix things between Katy and Maya. Shawn went to the diner to talk to Katy about forgetting Maya's birthday party, which offended Katy and initially made her dislike Shawn. Katy mentioned to Shawn that Maya doesn't stop talking about him, particularly after the trip he took with the kids. Shawn and Katy bonded over being bad at relationships and being the ones people leave. Katy admitted that although Maya thinks she chased away her dad, it was actually her dad that left her. A woman arrived with Katy's birthday gift, a locket, for Maya, but Katy didn't quite have the money for it yet. Shawn gave Katy the extra money so Katy could buy the gift on Maya's birthday and asked to take the family photo to go in the locket. Although Katy didn't want him to, Shawn told Maya the truth that her dad left her mom. Katy admitted the reason she wasn't around is she was working extra shifts to get Maya the gift she wanted. Shawn eventually tells Maya the truth about her father. 'Girl Meets First Date' When Josh came to New York for the summer, Maya again flirted with him. Josh told Maya that he was still too old for her. After Josh hit on a college recruiter, who thought she was too old for him, Josh felt the disappointment from the other side. In an effort to help Riley and Lucas finally ask each other out, Maya asked Lucas out on a date. Riley was angry with Maya at first, until she realized why Maya did so. When Lucas finally sought to ask Riley out, Cory gave Lucas and Riley his blessing, so long as they took Maya and Farkle along with them. After Riley and Lucas shared their first kiss, Farkle tried to kiss Maya - who blocked him with her hand. Farkle enjoyed kissing Maya's hand nonetheless. 'Girl Meets Pluto' When Cory decided it was time for his class to bury a time capsule containing things important to them, Maya was reluctant to place anything in the capsule as she thinks it's better not to have any hopes, to avoid disappointment. Before Cory, Topanga and Shawn were going to go to Philadelphia to dig up their own time capsule, Riley and Maya weren't interested in going along. After Shawn talked to Katy about how the time capsule could bring up memories of his relationship with Angela, Maya and Riley decided to join them. When the gang returned to New York City to open the time capsule, Maya watched on as Shawn opened the time capsule and rediscovered many mementos of his relationship with Angela, who he clearly still felt strongly for. Maya feared she'd lost any hope for Shawn starting a relationship with her mother. Riley, Cory and Topanga pushed Shawn to see his potential role in Maya's life. When Shawn told Maya he didn't know what he was supposed to be in her life, Maya asked him to just be out there for her. When the kids finally put their objects in the time capsule, Maya asked to be alone so she could place an item in there. Shawn agreed to do that. Maya placed a picture of her, Katy and Shawn in there. As Maya placed the photo in the capsule, she said "Hope is for suckers." Later, when Shawn stopped by Topanga's Bakery where Katy works, he chatted with her. When Shawn asked if Katy's lip gloss, which was a different flavor to the one Angela used, was a better flavor, she told him it was different. After Shawn asked if different is better, Katy told him it depends on the life you're having, but she is ready for different. 'Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels' Riley and Maya had an epic fight with threatened to end their friendship. When Riley refused to apologize for not standing up for Maya about something Lucas said, they stopped talking to each other. Seeing how serious the fight was, Cory drafted in his elder brother Eric to settle the friends' dispute. As Eric worked them through the issue, Maya admitted the problem was that Lucas called her a "short stack of pancakes" and Riley didn't defend her. Riley didn't defend her because she thinks it's true, but Maya admitted she's defended Riley from similar comments about her height and klutziness even though they are also true. Maya said that even if she is short, she never felt short until Riley didn't have her back. After Eric helped the friends patch things up, Maya was comfortable with the fact she's going to be short. Topanga, a woman Maya admires, showed her how even a short stack of pancakes like her can do fine. Appearance Maya is a beautiful girl with a pale complexion, blue eyes and medium length blonde hair which she often wears in a variety of different styles; straight, curly, or naturally waved. She has a slim, yet toned and athletic figure, and is slightly short for her age. Relationships Family 'Katy Hart' Mother Katy Hart is Maya's mother. She tries her best to take care of Maya and works as a waitress in a diner, waiting for her big break to fulfill her dreams of becoming an actress. 'Angela Hart' Grandmother Angela is Maya's grandmother who lives with her. She is a caring soul, with a zest for life. She seems very fond of Maya's friends, Riley and Farkle. 'Kermit' Absent father Kermit is Maya's absent father. In Girl Meets Father, Maya states that he started a new family. In Girl Meets the Truth she states her father has not sent anything to her in a long time. He appeared in Girl Meets the Forgiveness Project. Stepmother Kermit's wife is Maya's stepmother, who married her father, and the mother of her half-siblings. Presumably, she and Maya have never met. It is unknown what role, if any, she played in the breakup of Maya's parents. 'Shawn Hunter' Future Father Shawn is the oldest family friend of the Matthews. He and Maya have bonded over their similar backgrounds. Maya now seems to welcomes the possibility of Shawn becoming romantically involved with her mom, Katy. Shawn is a father figure in her eyes. In Girl Meets Upstate Shawn shows how fond he is of Maya saying he cares about her deeply and loves her. 'Unnamed Half-Siblings' Maya first alluded to having half-siblings in Girl Meets Father. She has at least has two , a half brother and a half sister. 'May Clutterbucket' Great grandmother May is Maya's great grandmother who abandoned her musical dreams late in 1961, but 50 years later, her guitar found its way home to Maya, thanks to Riley. Maya is not particularly proud to be from "a long line of Clutterbuckets." Friends 'Riley Matthews' Best Friend ' Riley is Maya's best friend. While Riley is the angel who keeps it safe, Maya is more of the rebel who doesn't believe in following the rules. Even though they are nearly opposites, the two are extremely close and loyal to each other no matter their differences. Riley admires Maya and wants to be like her, much to her father's dismay. Riley and Maya are considered inseparable. 'Farkle Minkus Close Friend/Admirer Farkle is Maya's close friend and yet sometimes they don't always agree on the same thing. He has a crush on her, even though they often butt heads. Riley always tries to save him by intervening. Farkle also has a crush on Riley and he always tries to get the two girls to fall in love with him. Either way, they are extremely protective of each other, and Maya really cares about Farkle and thinks of him as a close friend. 'Lucas Friar' Boyfriend Lucas is Maya's boyfriend. Throughout the episodes, Maya is annoyed by Lucas' "Country Boy" attitude, and continually calls him one of her many different nicknames for him. However, they definitely care about each other's feelings and opinions, and will defend each other if needed. They have shown romantic attraction in Girl Meets Creativity. In Girl Meets Texas (Part 2) it is revealed that Maya has a crush on Lucas and they almost kiss. Then in Girl Meets Texas (Part 3), they go into two dates. Maya cares for Lucas, and she doesn't want anything to happen to him because if it happened she wouldn't know how to handle the change. It is unknown if Maya teases Lucas because she likes him, which was suggested by Riley, but Maya didn't confirm nor deny it. In Girl Meets Legacy, it's revealed that Lucas likes Maya (and Riley) back, but doesn't fully understand his feelings for her. However, in Girl Meets High School (Part 1), they start dating, but both Riley and Maya want to date Lucas so they both refer to themselves as/become his girlfriends. 'Isadora Smackle' Isadora Smackle is a friend of Maya's, despite the false pretense their friendship began as. 'Cory Matthews' Teacher/father figure ' Not only is Cory Matthews Maya's seventh grade history teacher, Maya also sees him as a father figure, since her father is absent from her life . Even though Cory doesn't think that Maya is a good influence on Riley, he doesn't try to break up their friendship. In ''Girl Meets Boy, he got Maya a smartphone and a set of color pencils. In Girl Meets The Forgiveness Project, Maya is upset over the reponse her real father gives about leaving and says it's not her fault, she tells to him that she failed the class assignment, Cory tells her that she's not failing, and he didn't expect her to move on quickly and forgive, just know what happened. (The picture up above shows Maya crying on his shoulder and while he is giving her comfort.) '''Topanga Matthews Mother Figure Topanga has acted as a mother figure to Maya ever since she and Riley Matthews became friends. Topanga thinks she's fierce and trusts her as well. 'Zay Babineaux' Friend Zay and Maya are friends. Maya learnt about Zay being friends with Lucas when he moved to New York in Girl Meets the Secret of Life. They appear to be close friends and Maya (along with Riley) pretends to be Zay's girlfriend in Girl Meets Texas (Part 2), to help him impress his crush, Vanessa. 'Auggie Matthews' Friend Auggie is the younger brother of Maya's best friend, Riley. They seem fond of each other. 'Joshua Matthews' Crush Maya is Josh's friend. She has a crush on him. He'' may return her feelings, saying that she "grew up gorgeous." In ''Girl Meets First Date she tells him about her dream while they talk and stare at one another on the subway. In Girl Meets The Tell Tale Tot, she explains to Josh on why she likes him so much. She also mentions that what she feels for Josh is not just a "crush" but it is much more than that. Quotes Season 1 Girl Meets World Girl Meets Boy Girl Meets Father Girl Meets Popular Girl Meets Maya's Mother Girl Meets Smackle Girl Meets 1961 Girl Meets Crazy Hat Girl Meets World: Of Terror Girl Meets the Forgotten Girl Meets Flaws Girl Meets Brother Girl Meets Home for the Holidays Girl Meets Game Night Girl Meets Master Plan Girl Meets Farkle's Choice Girl Meets First Date Girl Meets Demolition Season 2 Girl Meets Gravity Girl Meets the New World Girl Meets the Secret of Life Girl Meets Pluto Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels Girl Meets the Tell-Tale-Tot Girl Meets Rules Girl Meets Hurricane Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels Goes to Washington Girl Meets the New Teacher Girl Meets Fish Girl Meets Yearbook Girl Meets Semi-Formal Girl Meets Rah Rah Girl Meets Texas (Part 1) Girl Meets Texas (Part 2) Girl Meets Texas (Part 3) Girl Meets the Forgiveness Project Girl Meets Belief Girl Meets the New Year Girl Meets STEM Girl Meets Money Girl Meets Commonism Girl Meets the Bay Window Girl Meets Legacy Season 3 Girl Meets High School (Part 1) Girl Meets High School (Part 2) Girl Meets Jexica Girl Meets Permanent Record Girl Meets Triangle Girl Meets Upstate Girl Meets True Maya Name *Maya is a feminine name with multiple meanings. In Hindu philosophy, Māyā means "illusion" and in Hindu mythology, it is also an alternate name of the Hindu goddess Durga. According to tradition, Queen Māyā of Sakya was also the name of the mother of Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha. *Hart is an old-fashioned term for a deer - the common quarry of a hunter. Her original surname was Fox, making this reference more obvious - switching it to Hart appears to have been done to facilitate "you're all heart" or "you've got heart" puns. Also, Maya Hart, "my heart"- she's Riley's heart, her emotional core. *Since her great grandmother name was May, Maya's name most likely originates from that. Apperances Season One #Girl Meets World #Girl Meets Boy #Girl Meets Sneak Attack #Girl Meets Father #Girl Meets the Truth #Girl Meets Popular #Girl Meets Maya's Mother #Girl Meets Smackle #Girl Meets 1961 #Girl Meets Crazy Hat #Girl Meets World: Of Terror #Girl Meets the Forgotten #Girl Meets Flaws #Girl Meets Friendship #Girl Meets Brother #Girl Meets Home for the Holidays #Girl Meets Game Night #Girl Meets Master Plan #Girl Meets Farkle's Choice #Girl Meets First Date #Girl Meets Demolition Season Two #Girl Meets Gravity #Girl Meets the New World #Girl Meets the Secret of Life #Girl Meets Pluto #Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels #Girl Meets the Tell-Tale-Tot #Girl Meets Rules #Girl Meets Hurricane #Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels Goes to Washington #Girl Meets the New Teacher #Girl Meets Fish #Girl Meets Yearbook #Girl Meets Semi-Formal #Girl Meets Creativity #Girl Meets Farkle #Girl Meets Cory and Topanga #Girl Meets Rileytown #Girl Meets World: Of Terror 2 #Girl Meets Rah Rah #Girl Meets Texas (Part 1) #Girl Meets Texas (Part 2) #Girl Meets Texas (Part 3) #Girl Meets the Forgiveness Project #Girl Meets Belief #Girl Meets the New Year #Girl Meets STEM #Girl Meets Money #Girl Meets Commonism #Girl Meets the Bay Window #Girl Meets Legacy Season Three #Girl Meets High School (Part 1) #Girl Meets High School (Part 2) #Girl Meets Jexica #Girl Meets Permanent Record #Girl Meets Triangle #Girl Meets Upstate #Girl Meets True Maya Appearances: 58/58 Trivia *She tends to have Riley carry her school things for her. *Maya appears to have a collection of tee-shirts featuring classic rock bands. *She shares strong similarities with Shawn Hunter. *In Girl Meets Sneak Attack, Maya claims to not worry about stuff that she can't control. *In Girl Meets Father, Maya claims her father started another family. *In Girl Meets the Truth, Maya admits that her father never sends her anything. *Maya's favorite thing at the Nighthawk Diner is the Tuna Melt. *Maya's mom told a tale on career day just like Shawn's father Chet Hunter did. *It is revealed in that "Girl Meets Smackle" that Maya has blurry eyesight, so she may need glasses or wear contacts. *Maya has a pet ferret named Ginger. *She can throw a ball the hardest in her gym class, and she has good aim. *Maya has a crush on Riley's uncle, Joshua Matthews. *Maya has been present for all of the episodes throughout the series. *She stills bears a scar on the back of her head from when she crashed her skateboard into a park bench at Farkle's eighth birthday party. *In Girl Meets Hurricane, we find out that her father's name is Kermit, and that her maternal grandmother (whom she lives with) is named Angela. *In Girl Meets the New Teacher, it is shown that Maya is thinking of becoming a teacher. *Riley stuck ice cream on her face in Girl Meets Rileytown. *She is named "Class Criminal" in the yearbook. *Riley pushed her out of bed in Girl Meets Rileytown. *She cried when Riley revealed something the bully said in Girl Meets Rileytown, in Girl Meets Hurricane and in Girl Meets the Forgiveness Project. *She takes Spanish from Señora Feinstein-Chang and can speak it somewhat fluently. * She takes Art from Mr. Jackson. * The bench she chose in Girl Meets Triangle is the bench she sat on and next to Riley when they were younger. * She is the official/female counterpart of Shawn Hunter. 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